Topic: Republican member

Rep. Frank Wolf turned up the heat on the Justice Department yesterday, introducing a Resolution of Inquiry that recounts the degree to which the Justice Department has stonewalled on efforts to find out why a serious case of voter intimidation was dismissed. Wolf wants the attorney general to hand over to the House all information relating to the dismissal of the case United States v. New Black Panther Party, the egregious voter-intimidation case that was captured on videotape. Wolf ‘s resolution explains:

This case was inexplicably dismissed earlier this year — over the ardent objections of the career attorneys overseeing the case as well as the department’s own appeal office. I regret that Congress must resort to oversight resolutions as a means to receive information about the dismissal of this case, but the Congress and the American people have a right to know why this case was not prosecuted.

As ranking Republican member of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, I take oversight of the department very seriously. … Time and again over the last year, the department has stonewalled any effort to learn about the decision to dismiss this case. I have written Attorney General Holder on six occasions asking for an explanation for the dismissal of this case. To date, I have received no response from him.

Wolf recounts his efforts to get answers — from the DOJ inspector general, who passed the buck, to the Office of Professional Responsibility, supervised by the attorney general. He notes that he has written to OPR, but the office not only refused to share information but also provided an incomplete and inaccurate response from a legislative-affairs staff member. He also chides the inadequate congressional oversight of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and notes that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, also rebuffed, has been forced to resort to issuing subpoenas. Confirming press accounts, Wolf asserts that “the attorney general has instructed his department to ignore these subpoenas,” giving his employees the choice between obeying the law and complying with the attorney general’s obstruction, regardless of his standing as the nation’s chief law enforcer.

Wolf implores the House not to turn a “blind eye” to the attorney general’s obstruction. He also urges the attorney general to answer the commission’s inquiries. The resolution must be voted on by the Judiciary Committee and will likely be defeated in a party-line vote. But the issue is slowly and surely getting some visibility.

Perhaps more important, Wolf inserted in the appropriation bill for the Justice Department language that directs Justice to report back on the findings of the inquiry by the Office of Professional Responsibility and to advise Congress of its ensuing recommendations for action.

It seems as though the Obami’s plan to conceal the Black Panther case under the radar screen is being thwarted. As one Capitol Hill source told me of the Obama Justice Department, “They will HATE this … there is no dodging this now.” At the very least, we may find out why Obama political appointees subverted the efforts of career attorneys.

Rep. Frank Wolf turned up the heat on the Justice Department yesterday, introducing a Resolution of Inquiry that recounts the degree to which the Justice Department has stonewalled on efforts to find out why a serious case of voter intimidation was dismissed. Wolf wants the attorney general to hand over to the House all information relating to the dismissal of the case United States v. New Black Panther Party, the egregious voter-intimidation case that was captured on videotape. Wolf ‘s resolution explains:

This case was inexplicably dismissed earlier this year — over the ardent objections of the career attorneys overseeing the case as well as the department’s own appeal office. I regret that Congress must resort to oversight resolutions as a means to receive information about the dismissal of this case, but the Congress and the American people have a right to know why this case was not prosecuted.

As ranking Republican member of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, I take oversight of the department very seriously. … Time and again over the last year, the department has stonewalled any effort to learn about the decision to dismiss this case. I have written Attorney General Holder on six occasions asking for an explanation for the dismissal of this case. To date, I have received no response from him.

Wolf recounts his efforts to get answers — from the DOJ inspector general, who passed the buck, to the Office of Professional Responsibility, supervised by the attorney general. He notes that he has written to OPR, but the office not only refused to share information but also provided an incomplete and inaccurate response from a legislative-affairs staff member. He also chides the inadequate congressional oversight of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and notes that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, also rebuffed, has been forced to resort to issuing subpoenas. Confirming press accounts, Wolf asserts that “the attorney general has instructed his department to ignore these subpoenas,” giving his employees the choice between obeying the law and complying with the attorney general’s obstruction, regardless of his standing as the nation’s chief law enforcer.

Wolf implores the House not to turn a “blind eye” to the attorney general’s obstruction. He also urges the attorney general to answer the commission’s inquiries. The resolution must be voted on by the Judiciary Committee and will likely be defeated in a party-line vote. But the issue is slowly and surely getting some visibility.

Perhaps more important, Wolf inserted in the appropriation bill for the Justice Department language that directs Justice to report back on the findings of the inquiry by the Office of Professional Responsibility and to advise Congress of its ensuing recommendations for action.

It seems as though the Obami’s plan to conceal the Black Panther case under the radar screen is being thwarted. As one Capitol Hill source told me of the Obama Justice Department, “They will HATE this … there is no dodging this now.” At the very least, we may find out why Obama political appointees subverted the efforts of career attorneys.